Villanova 63, No. 2 Kansas 59: Ryan Arcidiacono overcame his season-long shooting slump and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in the second half as the Wildcats stunned the Jayhawks in a semifinal game at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
After Kansas took its first lead since late in the first half on a free throw by Frank Mason with 33 seconds left, Villanova was awarded possession on a jump ball after JayVaughn Pinkston lost control of the ball in the lane. On the ensuing inbounds play, Arcidiacono came around a screen and drained his only basket of the contest from the left corner.
Rice transfer Dylan Ennis and Darrun Hilliard both scored 14 points while Pinkston added 13 for the Wildcats (6-0), who will meet No. 23 Iowa in the title game. Mason led the way with 12 points for Kansas (5-1), which will face Texas-El Paso in the third-place contest.
Villanova missed its first seven shots and quickly fell behind 11-2 in front of a pro-Kansas crowd, but Hilliard trimmed most of the deficit with three 3-pointers to draw the Wildcats within two. Following a jump shot by Andrew Wiggins with 8:22 left, the Jayhawks missed their final seven field-goal attempts before the break while Villanova closed the half on a 14-4 run.
Kansas pulled within two points just four minutes into the second half before Ennis and Josh Hart combined for three 3-pointers to re-establish a 12-point advantage. However, the Jayhawks held Villanova to a free throw over a seven-minute stretch and took a 59-58 lead on Mason's free throw.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Arcidiacono was 5-for-29 from the 3-point line for the season before connecting on the game-winner. … Hart and Kansas F Andrew White III each were assessed a technical foul after getting tangled up away from the ball with 15:46 remaining. … Kansas, which shot a season-low 18.2 percent from beyond the arc, finished 28 points below its season average.
Villanova | Kansas | |
Dylan Ennis 14 | Scoring | Frank Mason 12 |
Ryan Arcidiacono 4 | Assists | Naadir Tharpe 4 |
JayVaughn Pinkston 7 | Rebounds | Joel Embiid 5 |
James Bell 6 | Free Throws Made | Perry Ellis 5 |
Darrun Hilliard 3 | Steals | Frank Mason 2 |
James Bell 1 | Blocks | Landen Lucas 1 |